This repository builds a native C++ executable named sed that is intended to be a drop-in command-line replacement in environments where GNU sed compatibility is the contract because red from uutils made me slightly upset.

The executable is deliberately split into small source files with heavy comments around the sharp edges: script compilation, address ranges, regular-expression substitution, hold space, NUL-delimited input, in-place editing, and GNU sed extensions.

Build

meson setup build
meson compile -C build

The binary is written to build/sed/sed so it matches the directory shape used by GNU sed's own testsuite.

Test against GNU sed 4.10

scripts/run-gnu-sed-tests.sh

The harness downloads https://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/sed/sed-4.10.tar.xz, configures and builds the upstream test tree, copies this project's native C++ binary over the upstream test binary, and runs the sed command tests. Meson also wires this in as gnu-sed-4.10 with a 240 second timeout:

meson test -C build gnu-sed-4.10

It intentionally skips GNU sed's testsuite/help-version.sh because Sed++ keeps its own version string and license identity; that test asserts GNU branding rather than sed command behavior.